Dorothy Allison's Creation of the Post-Modern Appalachian Woman Anonymous College

Dorothy Allison’s novel Bastard Out of Carolina tells the story of ‘white-trash’ girl Bone Boatwright and her “no-good, lazy, shiftless” family (3). The novel explores some of the most common myths and realities plaguing the Appalachian region such as poverty, incest, and domestic abuse. Specifically, Allison confronts the institutional system of gender relations through all the characters she portrays within the novel. Bone’s mother, Anney, her aunts Alma and Ruth, her step-father Glen, and the other Boatwright aunts and uncles consistently address and live up to traditional gender expectations. With that being said, Bone and her Aunt Raylene are the only characters to break free from these gender roles and create a better future for themselves. Throughout Bastard Out of Carolina, Allison uses the aforementioned strong and independent female characters to challenge patriarchal gender relations and ultimately, she creates a new standard for Appalachian women in the post-modern era.

Agreeably, most of the characters in the novel fulfill traditional gender expectations. As a whole, the women are there to tend to the home and children while the men are expected to provide and protect. Yet, Allison uses these characters to expose...